As the Moon Shines Through
by thefirstservant
Summary: "The intelligent love loyalty, too." Written for the Butterfly Round of The 2012 Hogwarts Games at HPFC.


Because the intelligent love loyalty too.

…

Cho slammed the door to her dormitory shut. She lay against the door, panting hard.

She had rushed her way to Ravenclaw tower, using all the shortcuts and secret passageways she knew. Her heart was still beating as hard as it was when Harry had ordered everyone to run away from the DA meeting as fast as they could.

_Harry_… Cho's heart leaped up to her throat. She hoped, truly hoped he had made it to safety. She couldn't imagine what would happen to him if he were caught. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly before looking around her.

The dormitory was empty. She had seen some of her roommates down in the common room as she rushed past them, but had not stopped to greet them as she had rushed to get to the safety of her dorm.

Cho sat down on her bed. She turned to look at the bed beside her – Marietta's bed. She wondered where Marietta had gone.

Cho turned around and rested her head on her pillow, facing the window. The bright moon shined its light through the windowpanes, gleaming against the night sky.

Cedric had loved nights such as those. Cho felt a tear roll down her cheek.

_Cedric…Harry…Cedric…Harry.._

…

Cho blinked as she stirred up in bed. She surmised that she had fallen asleep for some time. The night wasn't too late yet though, as her roommates' beds were still all empty.

She heard a quiet sob from behind her. Turning around, she saw a figure curled up by the window, shoulders shaking ever so slightly, faced toward the view below.

Cho heard another sob. Slipping out of bed, she crept toward the figure. Placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, she ventured, "Marietta?"

Slowly, the figure turned, hands covering her face. It was indeed, Marietta, and even through the little light the moon gave off, Cho could see that something was truly wrong.

She knelt down in front of her friend. She gently took hold of Marietta's hands and carefully pried them away from her face.

Then she sucked in a gasp at what she saw.

Marietta's face had been covered with blemishes that formed a large SNEAK across her face.

The friends gazed at each other for a minute – Marietta, turning almost blank eyes at Cho and Cho, speechlessly staring at the blemishes across her friend's face.

The moon's light seemed to flicker away. And in that small moment, Marietta had burst into tears and had thrown herself at Cho, face again covered with her hands while turned against Cho's shoulder.

Then in between sobs, Cho learned the whole story – Marietta's betrayal, Dumbledore's flight away from Hogwarts, and the hex that wouldn't go away.

Cho rubbed circles into her friend's back, comforting her as Marietta hiccupped through her tears. Soothingly, she calmed her friend down, even as her heart burned against Hermione Granger, for Ravenclaw as she was, it had taken her only a second to realize what had happened. Hermione Granger, Harry's friend.

She led the still crying Marietta to her bed and tried a few spells to heal the blemishes. And when nothing worked, she stopped and promised Marietta sincerely and firmly that she would do all she could to help her hide and heal her scarred face.

Then she sat vigil by Marietta's bedside, shushing her friend slowly to sleep, as she remembered the countless nights Marietta had coaxed her to sleep – the moonless nights when Cedric, her Cedric, seemed so far away.

There she sat the night through, long after her other friends had crawled to bed. She sat by Marietta's side, watching as the moon danced its way across the sky, its light never leaving her, as Cedric had promised her he wouldn't.

So when Cho spoke to Harry about Marietta, she remembered Marietta and the sleepless nights. She remembered Cedric and the bright moonlight that lulled her to sleep night after night or else kept her company whenever sleep felt like a nightmare itself. She remembered the promises and the faith that went along with it.

So when Cho spoke to Harry about Marietta, she looked into his green eyes and found that she didn't care quite that much anymore.

Because Cho was a Ravenclaw and Ravenclaws were intelligent.

And the intelligent love loyalty too.


End file.
